VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

Youth First Rwanda 2023-24 

Terms of Reference for the recruitment of 6 data collectors 

Follow up Qualitative Research 

Organization Background 

Wellspring Foundation for Education is an International NGO whose vision is to be a catalyst for transforming education in Africa and to foster vibrant communities that address poverty in all its forms. Wellspring is registered as an INGO in Rwanda and as a charitable organisation in Langley BC, Canada.  

The Wellspring Foundation for Education has been working in Rwanda since 2008, implementing locally-led education programs in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Rwanda Education Board and our partner districts.  

Our innovative School Development Program has supported educators, leaders, and the school community members in over 150 schools in Rwanda. Wellspring is also dedicated to developing and piloting local innovations to support quality education in Rwanda - current projects include Gender Responsive Formative Assessment, and Blended Digital Learning for Teacher Professional Development. Wellspring is now leading the implementation of WorldBeing's Youth First Rwanda program that builds resilience and mental health for young adolescents in Rwandan secondary schools across 7 districts. 

I. Project Background

Youth First Rwanda (YFR) program is a school-based resilience intervention that targets psychosocial, physical, and educational wellbeing among Rwandan youth (ages 13-15) studying in government lower secondary schools. Developed by WorldBeing, a US-based non-governmental organization, YFR draws on scientific evidence from the positive psychology, resilience, and mental health promotion fields. YFR has been specifically customized to the cultural and language context of Rwanda. The program aims to enhance adolescents’ agency by building their planning and decision-making skills and their sense of self-determination. In collaboration with the Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB), WorldBeing  piloted YFR in 2020 and officially launched the program in 50 lower secondary schools in 2021. In the 2022-23 academic year, WorldBeing began partnering with The Wellspring Foundation for Education for implementation of YFR. The intervention aims to reach 50 percent of Rwandan lower secondary schools by 2025. 

YFR trains and supports schoolteachers to facilitate student resilience sessions: weekly, one-hour meetings of adolescent girls and boys in separate small groups of 15-20 students per week. The core YFR curriculum unfolds throughout one academic year, progressively building tangible skills in:

• Character strength development
• Social-emotional and communication skills
• Goal-setting, problem-solving, and conflict resolution
• Gender rights, puberty and reproductive health, hygiene, and safe water practices

YFR uses a training-of-trainers (ToT) approach and a curriculum that translates and adapts research and best practices from the fields of emotional resilience, positive psychology, social-emotional learning, conflict resolution and other fields into materials, activities, and skills tailored for young adolescents in Rwanda. Youth First and a similar program Girls First have demonstrated results in increased resilience, self-efficacy, emotional self-regulation, and increased use of practical tools to communicate, solve problems, resolve conflicts, and set and achieve goals. Evidence also suggests increasing youth aspirations and confidence toward completing their education, delaying marriage and childbirth, and reaching career and other life goals. 

Teachers receive eight days of intensive training and content immersion in a hybrid remote/in-person format related to resilience, social-emotional wellbeing, problem solving, dealing with difficult emotions, goal setting, and conflict resolution, as well as skills around effective facilitation and student engagement. Additionally, teachers receive regular supportive supervision and mentoring by Master Trainers and further build skills through five monthly peer support sessions over the course of the program. Youth First programs in Kenya and India consistently yield evidence that teachers gain resilience through teaching resilience: teachers report improved psychosocial and educational attitudes and practices such as better teacher-pupil relations, improved relationships with school administrators and other teachers, improved communication and support in the home environment, and greater commitment to students and their education. 

II. Study Background

During the 2022-23 academic year, WorldBeing and Wellspring conducted a quasi-experimental study that sought  to (1) answer key questions about the impact of YFR on Rwandan youth and (2) develop an explanatory theory for any observed effects. The study included Senior 1 (S-1) students (ages 13-15) from 50 schools benefiting from YFR and S-1 students from 50 comparable schools not benefiting from YFR. Results from evaluation indicated that the program had a positive impact on short-term outcomes such as knowledge of and confidence in problem solving, managing emotions, goal setting, and facing challenges. However, the impact of the program on intermediate outcomes such as resilience, improved gender attitudes, and increased school engagement were inconclusive. 

To better understand the impact of the program on intermediate outcomes and find answers to questions that remained unanswered in our previous research, WorldBeing and Wellspring will conduct a follow-up study in a total of 18 lower-secondary schools across Huye, Kayonza, and Rulindo. As part of the study, qualitative focus group discussions will be conducted with male and female students who were in S-1 during the 2022-23 academic year in each of the 18 purposively selected schools. Data will be collected in November 2023.

III. Scope of Work

Wellspring is seeking to recruit qualitative data collectors to conduct interviews and focus groups and transcribe data from a sample of 18 schools in November  2023. 

At each school, the data collectors will conduct two student focus group discussions (one all boys and one all girls) with students who were in S-1 during the 2022-23 academic year.

The data collector’s full scope of work, including tasks, deliverables, and estimated time frame appears in the following deliverables: 

IV. Expected Deliverables 

Wellspring will be responsible for the following

• Get permission for school visits;
• Provide any supporting documents such as school list, school contact information, and field staff contact information
• Provide training/orientation to the data collector and her/his research assistants on data collection instruments (i.e., student interview guide, student focus group discussion guide, teacher interview guide, and session observation form)
• Supervise the data collection process and provide the technical support and feedback needed.

Responsibilities and Liability of data collectors 

• Maintaining confidentiality of all Wellspring materials, resources, data and processes shared for review, and that of Wellspring’s partners (schools, districts, NGOs) both during and after the activity;
• Reading and complying with Wellspring’s Child Safeguarding policy and Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Policy.
• Consider all materials and data as Wellspring’s intellectual property. 

V. Terms of Contract The contract between Wellspring and the data collectors will be a fixed fee determined by mutual agreement of both parties. The data collector selected for this contract must ensure that the entire scope of work (both direct and indirect costs, including travel to/from school sites) can be completed with the available resources. 

VI. Supervision and Logistics

• The data collectors shall work under the supervision of the Director of Policy and Programs and the SEL & Resilience Program Manager.
• The Principal Investigator will be WorldBeing Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Specialist
• The data collector(s) and the relevant Wellspring staff will meet as per the agreed timings and at various stages throughout the process
• Logistics may be provided by Wellspring; 
• The main working language is English but some data may be provided in Kinyarwanda. Translations may be provided if needed. 

VII. Qualifications and Experience

The data collectors hired for this contract will ideally have the following minimum qualifications:

• A university degree;
• 2-3 years’ experience as data collectors in education and related fields in Rwanda proven by certificates;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in Kinyarwanda and English;
• Having worked as a teacher or a teacher trainer is an advantage. 

VIII. Submission Requirements

Data collectors interested in fulfilling this scope should submit their Curriculum Vitae (CV) to RWrecruitment@thewellspringfoundation.org with cc to sibomanae@thewellspringfoundation.org and theogenek@thewellspringfoundation.org. 

IX. WELLSPRING’S COMMITMENT TO SAFEGUARDING 

Wellspring is committed to the safeguarding and protection of the children and communities we serve, our partners, our volunteers, and our staff. As part of this commitment to safeguarding, all offers of employment and consultancy contracts will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate background checks. 

X. Submission Procedures and Selection process 

The closing date for this opportunity is Tuesday 7th November 2023 at 5.00pm. The shortlisted candidates will be invited to an interview for the final on Friday 10th November 2023 and the starting date is Monday 20th November 2023 

We are committed to ensuring diversity and gender equality within our organization. All underrepresented qualified groups are highly recommended to apply. 

2nd November 2023

Wellspring Foundation for Education